Dare to Be Different (2017)

Dare to Be Different: Directed by Ellen Goldfarb. With Nancy Abramson, M. King Adkins, Ron Alexenburg, Sam Ash. In 1982, a small radio station battles to bring the New Wave to America.

“Nice try, but you canu0026#39;t write your own history of music.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film is a good example of how a group of people affiliated with some cultural phenomenon view their experience as the first, best or only experience of that phenomenon.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn this case, a small Long Island radio station is switched from a rock and roll format to a u0026quot;new waveu0026quot; format in 1982 and the station enjoys success and fame with a playlist of British post-punk artist comprising the u0026quot;new waveu0026quot; movement in pop music. This documentary amounts to a big u0026quot;pat on the backu0026quot; to the DJs and program director who claim credit for breaking many european music acts before any other station did the same.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe problem with this film is itu0026#39;s not true. This film is purely a self-congratulatory effort to lionize people who feel that their efforts in their subculture were worthy of recognition thatu0026#39;s not really warranted.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRodney Bigenheimer was the Person who broke most of the bands whom the filmmakers credit the Long Island station with introducing to America. Bingenheimer is an iconic LA rock persona who was a DJ for KROQ radio in Pasadena, Los Angeles, California from 1976-2017, where he introduced many, many bands from overseas into the popular culture. Most of the bands mentioned in this documentary as introduced by the Long Island radio station were previously played by Bigenheimer on his show, u0026quot;Rodney on the Roqu0026quot; on KROQ in Los Angeles.nSo, this filmu0026#39;s premise is basically false. The reality is clear for anyone with internet access or who grew up in Southern California during the 70u0026#39;s and 80u0026#39;s.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIts fun hearing the east coast fans talking about their experiences with new wave and the parties and clubs and excitement. But this experience was shared and explored by others earlier and concurrently in other parts of the US. And that takes away from this documentaryu0026#39;s credibility and relevance. Itu0026#39;s shameless actually.”